The wine market is changing as consumers reconsider what they drink, how they make purchasing decisions and the role wine plays in their lives. UC Davis is inviting those in the wine industry to participate in a survey examining industry perspectives on current and emerging wine-consumer behavior. This survey is part of a research collaboration involving by Drs. Arran Rumbaugh …

Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on California’s ranching landscapes: wolves eat cattle more than anything else and the presence of the predators causes significant stress among livestock. In the first study, UC Davis researchers found wolves from the Lassen and Harvey packs in northeastern California were primarily eating cattle. They collected …

The University of California, Davis, celebrated the grand opening of the Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation. Made possible by philanthropic support, including a lead transformative gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, through their foundation in 2022, the new center is housed within the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The center builds on the university’s longstanding global leadership …

California’s processing tomato industry for the first time this past harvest season agreed to voluntary equipment cleaning and notification guidelines to prevent the spread of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that attaches to roots and sucks out key nutrients. The weed’s tiny can be smaller than finely ground spices, survive dormant in soils for decades and be carried by wind, …

The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) announces that the ASEV Extension Distinction Award has been officially renamed The Anita Oberholster Award for Extension Excellence in honor of Dr. Anita Oberholster, who passed away on January 11, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Dr. Oberholster was a globally respected professor of cooperative extension in enology at …

Leaf Monitor, a new mobile tool backed by artificial intelligence and predictive modeling, could revolutionize how farmers monitor crops and make decisions by providing real-time nutrition and leaf trait information in the field. “Having this information is very valuable for the farmers,” said Alireza Pourreza, associate professor of Cooperative Extension and director of the Digital Agriculture Laboratory in the Department …

For every juicy tomato or crunchy almond California grows, there’s a pile of pulp, hulls or scraps that often goes to waste. A new online tool, created by University of California, Davis researchers, tracks those agricultural byproducts aiming to find innovative ways to put them to use. The Byproduct Database, maintained by the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems, …

Agave may be a slow-growing plant, but the rush to farm the drought-tolerant crop in California has been rapid. Since 2023, agave acreage has quadrupled in the state, from 50 acres to over 200. Photo Caption: Yessica Fernandez Galicia is a researcher who’s organizing a webinar series to meet the most pressing questions from California agave growers. Photo by Rob …

The Farm Robotics Challenge, the only collegiate agricultural robotics competition of its kind, is officially launching its 2026 season. Registration is now open for undergraduate and graduate student teams from two-year and four-year colleges and universities across the United States and worldwide. The competition tasks students with designing, prototyping and field-testing robotics and AI-driven solutions to tackle real challenges facing …

Summertime at California county fairs usually brings a barnyard chorus of oinks, neighs and bleats from livestock. But in California, cock-a-doodle-doos are missing from that chorus. A statewide ban on bird exhibitions, due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, has left empty cages and disappointed young 4-H members who spent months raising chickens for competition. “Fowl News: Bird Flu Ruffles Feathers …